3rd International Rainwater Cistern Systems Conference
Khon Kaen, Thailand - January, 1987

Section C: Design

Paper C.7

Rainwater As A Source Of Domestic Water Supply In The Coastal Areas Of Bangladesh

Nazul I. Chowdhury
Lecturer
M. Feroze Ahmed
Professor
J. R. Choudhury
Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Dhaka-2
Bangladesh

A. K. Turner
Reader
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Melbourne
Parkville
Victoria 3052
Australia

Rainwater has a great potentiality for use as an alternative source of domestic water supply in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, where there is no organized water supply system. To analyze the feasibility of using rainwater as a source of domestic water supply a field study on the existing socio-economic, housing and water supply conditions has been conducted in a sample area of this problem zone. Using the 'yield after storage' approach, the storage volume required for rainwater collected from rooftop has been calculated under various constraints, viz. catchment area, demand, family size and reliability. It has been found that one fourth of total families in this area would be in a position to collect rainwater using rooftops. But only about 6 percent of the families can afford to pay the high construction cost of a permanent type of storage tank required for the system.

PDF of full document available to members (11pp, 300kb)